Topic: patents

A batch of Apple patent filings published on Thursday describe a system of interconnected sensors -- some being wearable devices -- that work with an iPhone hub to monitor activity levels, dynamically set or cancel alarms and manage push notification settings, among other automated tasks.

A resolution to the long-running intellectual property battle between Apple and Samsung could be drawing near, as a Wednesday report out of South Korea suggested that the tech titans are working toward an agreement that would allow their important supplier relationship to continue.

In a pair of filings with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit earlier this week, both Apple and Samsung dropped their respective appeals of an ITC order to block sales of certain Samsung products, agreeing further pursuit on the issue would be unfruitful.

An Apple patent application published on Thursday describes an advanced iPad Smart Cover containing illumination and communication elements that light up to alert users to incoming messages, low battery warnings and other notifications.

In the shadow of Apple's recent acquisition of Beats Electronics, known for its aftermarket headphone hardware, a pair of Apple patent filings published on Thursday show an earbud design that can detect user's presence based on data from onboard sensors.

The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office on Tuesday issued Apple a patent describing a process in which an iPhone's display glass -- including sapphire -- is integrally joined with a bezel made out of amorphous metal alloy, namely LiquidMetal.

Just over 15 years ago, two Stanford University students set out to commercialize PageRank, a brilliant new search engine concept they'd developed to organize the Internet's vast array of information. However, the same intellectual property rights Google now opposes in regard to Android would have prevented Larry Page and Sergey Brin from ever having got their company off the ground back then.

Samsung lost an appeal in the Netherlands over its infringement of Apple's bounce-back patent, resulting in a broad injunction against selling accused devices and all other infringing devices that Samsung has introduced or will introduce.

While Apple and Samsung are said to once again be in talks to settle their ongoing patent disputes, Apple has said that comments from Samsung's lawyers portraying the iPhone maker as "jihadist" suggest that such talks might just be a waste of time.

The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office on Tuesday granted Apple a modified version of a property covering solar panel integration in portable devices, widening the invention's reach to cover electronics with transparent multitouch screens like the iPhone.

Following Apple's most recent legal victory in California, and the news that both it and Google have agreed to end litigation with each other, Apple is said to have renewed settlement talks with Samsung, in an effort to end all ongoing lawsuits between the two rivals.

Apple made legal progress in its battle with Samsung over patents in Japan this week when the Tokyo District Court ruled that Samsung had indeed illegally abused its Standards Essential Patents to demand a sales ban and excessive royalties against the iPhone maker.

Rigid glass touchscreens may give way to bendable, foldable portable displays in the future, thanks to utilizing graphene -- an advanced technology that has generated interest from Apple, Samsung and others.

An Apple invention published on Thursday illustrates a simple yet effective way to remind a user of who is on the other end of a text message or group chat, a problem that is the bane of people who juggle multiple conversations at once.

As the launch of Apple's next-generation iPhone draws near, new documents discovered on Tuesday reveal the company is already looking ahead to future versions of the handset that may sport functional wrap-around displays.

After seeing the majority of its Java infringement claims against Android essentially set aside in 2012, Oracle has now won an important reversal on appeal that will allow it to pursue its $1 billion case against Google and potentially an injunction against Android as infringing its Java intellectual property.

Documents discovered on Thursday show Apple is hard at work on tech to take iPhone picture quality to new levels, specifically a "super-resolution" imaging engine that uses optical image stabilization to capture multiple samples that are then stitched together to form an incredibly high-density photo.

Apple is famous for its pioneering touchscreen devices, but a new patent shows the company has also dabbled behind the scenes in touch-sensitive buttons that would be able to distinguish between accidental activation and an actual finger press.